I’m A Little White Flower In An Escape Game ☆ 5

Arc 1: 《Mermaid Village》 Ch2-ch14

"Go out now?!" exclaimed Ruan Bai, surprised. "Won't it be dangerous?"

Gu San wanted to go out right after the female ghost had left?

"Some experienced players have summarized a game rule called 'danger limit'," Gu San explained. "To allow players time to rest and adjust the difficulty, the time interval for encountering danger varies in different levels of Escape Games."

"For instance, in this B-level world, if I face a crisis now, I will be in a protected state for the next period of time, and there will be no danger. Whereas in an S-level world, danger occurs every minute. Players must figure out how to rest by themselves."

Ruan Bai understood everything immediately.

At that moment, the door could be easily pushed open. They tiptoed out of the room and walked to the window where the woman had stood, looking around.

And with a single glance, they spotted the problem.

On the eaves of every household in the village hung a small wooden plaque with cinnabar-written talismans.

The mermaid village in the dark night was shrouded in a dense black mist that was almost solid, and everything around became blurry in the fog. Only the rune on each wooden plaque shone like a red light in the darkness, swaying with the wind, casting a shallow red light on the street.

And outside the window of their room, there should have been a wooden plaque with such a talisman. Yet, someone had cut the rope, removing the wooden plaque and leaving only a red string hanging from the eaves.

"What are these? Can they protect us?" Ruan Bai asked, looking around and then up at the thin rope above her head. All the symbols were in red, which made her feel uneasy rather than safe. "Were we the ones to be attacked because someone cut off our window's talisman?"

"Most likely," Gu San replied, his voice turning cold as he examined the cut rope's end. "And it's probably happened within the last few days."

The cut was fresh, without any dust, unlike an old scar.

Ruan Bai began searching the area for any signs of the culprit. She didn't know who this person was, but perhaps they left something behind that could lead her to them.

She soon noticed a footprint beneath her feet. When the female ghost had left earlier, she took the water from inside the room but left the outside soil wet and muddy, making the footprint clearly visible.

"The footprint is small, like mine, and probably belongs to a woman," Ruan Bai said, comparing it to her own foot. "I don't think it's the female ghost's footprint."

The female ghost seemed to hate ordinary people like them deeply, so Ruan Bai speculated that someone else must have left the footprint.

So who was the person who cut the wooden plaque to harm them? A villager or a player?

Gu San didn't comment on her speculation. "Let's go back," he said lightly. "Get some rest, and we'll check again tomorrow."

After careful consideration, Ruan Bai thought these were probably the only clues that could be found. So she nodded and followed Gu San back to the room.

However, the moment they entered the room, Ruan Bai suddenly felt something and turned her head to look at the house not far away. She saw a ghostly white face stuck to the window, which made her hair stand on end. It was watching them.

"What's wrong?" Gu San noticed Ruan Bai's hesitation and asked inside the room.

Ruan Bai's fingers trembled, and she was about to say something, but it quickly disappeared after the ghostly face glanced at her. She took a deep breath and finally swallowed her words, entering the room.

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Having just completed a random task, Ruan Bai now had 1000 points in her hand. After being stared at by the ghostly face, she worried that something might happen later. Hence, she opened the system mall and prepared to exchange two life-saving items.

However, as she looked closer, she saw that everything inside was full of "beauty pills," "pitiful face mask," and "medicine for a weak constitution, no matter how much you eat."

Ruan Bai hesitated and asked with difficulty, "Um, Gu San, what kind of items can be exchanged for points in your system mall?"

Gu San's voice remained calm, "The items include dolls that can sacrifice themselves for you, invisibility symbols that conceal you from others, and mirrors that unveil the truth."

Noticing Ruan Bai's distressed expression, Gu San paused and asked, "Is everything okay?"

Ruan Bai replied, "It's nothing." Can she delete her account and start afresh?

【System: These are all fated choices, host. Heaven knows your ultimate destiny should be beautiful and pitiful, so it hasn't granted you any useless or fake props.】

Ruan Bai thought to herself, 'I may not know my destiny, but I'm certain yours is me!' She would have pounded the system for three days and nights if the system were tangible.

Unable to purchase any life-saving props and feeling drained, Ruan Bai returned to bed disappointedly and closed her eyes to sleep.

The night was dreamless.

The next day, Ruan Bai was jolted awake by a shriek. It emerged that, apart from their team, several other player teams had encountered deaths, some of them players, some of them villagers. Initially, there were fifteen players, but after one night, only twelve remained.

When Ruan Bai and Gu San hastened over, they discerned that the spirits of some of the new players were disturbed. Knowing this was a death Escape Game was one thing, but confronting death was another.

"We dozed off last night and have no recollection of what happened," Qin Yu lamented. "Moments ago, I called him to wake up, but he didn't budge. I assumed he was still sleeping..."

His teammate died last night, but he didn't exhibit much emotion. Perhaps he had grown accustomed to death.

Beside them, the new high school student, Wang Wen Wen, had slightly swollen eyes and a panicked demeanour. Her tears had just subsided, and the white-collar worker who had consoled Ruan Bai earlier was now whispering to her.

"Sob...I want to go home...I don't want to stay here," Wang Wen Wen choked through her tears. "What did I do wrong? Why do I have to suffer this?"

Upon hearing this, Ruan Bai may have been infected by the despair in her tone. Her mood worsened as well. Who would willingly partake in such a twisted game if given a chance? The first night in the B-level world had already claimed three lives. If three more suns set, less than half would remain alive. The unnaturally high death toll weighed heavily on Ruan Bai's mind.

As Gu San departed, he gave Ruan Bai a subtle nod, conveying an unspoken message. Taking advantage of the distraction, Ruan Bai slipped away and investigated the two vacant homes covertly.

As expected, the wooden signs hanging outside each residence had been deliberately cut. The evidence indicated that someone within their group was targeting her fellow players.

After confirming her suspicions, Ruan Bai returned to the others, now gathered in the quarters previously occupied by Qin Yu and his companion, silently observing the body of a fallen comrade.

[TN: :D If you are not reading this novel on puukkiss.wixsite.com/inkydragon, please support the original translator by visiting my website. Thank you! :)]

Peering through the open doorway, she caught sight of the corpse sprawled on the bed, his face serene as if in slumber. But his lower extremities had been violently amputated, leaving behind a ghastly, blood-soaked wound.

Despite bracing herself, Ruan Bai couldn't help but recoil in shock, her complexion draining colour.

As Ruan Bai emerged from the room, Gu San found an excuse to follow her outside. She could sense his suspicion and revealed her recent discoveries in a hushed tone.

"I see," Gu San said calmly, studying the players in the room before turning to Ruan Bai. "Let's talk somewhere else."

Ruan Bai felt the weight of his words. With so many groups of villagers being killed, the possibility of saboteurs among them was all too real. But what motive could the players possibly have for turning on each other? Wasn't their objective simply to survive?

Noticing Ruan Bai's confusion, Gu San explained, "It's common for there to be wolfs among the players. Did you read the mission assigned by the system when we entered the game?"

Ruan Bai nodded, remembering her mission to survive for three days and uncover the secret of the mermaid village.

"That's right," Gu San said. "Each player has their own set of tasks. While our missions may align, others' objectives may differ. Some players may be tasked with targeting their fellow competitors... If my intuition is correct, there is at least one player among them whose mission is to eliminate others while keeping their identity concealed."

Were the players really turning on each other in this twisted game?

Ruan Bai was stunned by the revelation. Looking up, she saw Gu San standing opposite her, his dark eyes fixed on the group of players in contemplation.

Donning a hat, he exuded an air of a lurking black snake, silently and surreptitiously observing its prey. Whom was he suspecting?

"We'll set aside the issue of catching the mole for now. Our immediate task is to unveil the village's secrets," Gu San stated, turning to Ruan Bai. "Do the dead not terrify you?" he asked.

Ruan Bai's countenance whitened at the sight of the lifeless bodies. Despite her apprehension, she remained motionless. Fear was inevitable in a game of survival such as this. She realized that allowing terror to consume her would only make staying alive more challenging.

She shook her head. It had only been a day, and more death awaited them.

Gu San observed her with interest. "Impressive, you possess a resolute character," he commented, tilting his head. "I'll leave our next course of action in your hands."

Ruan Bai hesitantly replied, "Let's explore the Taoist temple."

She had a hunch that the temple, where the mermaid goddess Ah Ma was worshipped, concealed secrets waiting to be uncovered.

——— Translator's Notes ———

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